Indonesia’s Mount Semeru erupts repeatedly, sending ash 1,100 metres into sky

Mount Semeru in Indonesia erupted multiple times on Monday morning, sending thick columns of ash up to 1,100 metres above its summit, according to the country’s volcanology authorities.

Officials from the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation reported that the ash plumes, ranging in colour from white to grey, drifted southwards with moderate intensity. The volcano recorded at least seven eruptions since midnight, with activity beginning at 12:38 a.m. local time and the latest eruption occurring at 9:29 a.m.

The most intense episode was observed at 6:51 a.m., when the ash column reached its highest point of the day.

Authorities have urged residents and visitors to stay outside a five-kilometre radius of the crater. In the southeastern sector, restrictions extend up to 13 kilometres along the Besuk Kobokan river, with warnings that volcanic hazards such as lahars and pyroclastic flows could travel as far as 17 kilometres from the summit.

The latest activity follows a series of eruptions in recent months. In March, the volcano sent an ash plume approximately 1,000 metres into the air and generated a hot avalanche cloud that travelled around three kilometres along the same river channel.

Earlier in February, Semeru erupted five times in a single day, also producing ash columns reaching up to 1,000 metres. Monitoring officials noted significant seismic activity during those events.

The volcano remains at Level III alert, the second-highest in Indonesia’s four-tier warning system. Authorities have reiterated that people should avoid conducting any activities within the designated exclusion zones due to the risk of hot clouds, ashfall and other volcanic materials.

Rising 3,676 metres above sea level, Mount Semeru is the tallest volcano on Java and one of the most active in the region. Indonesia sits along the Pacific Ring of Fire, a zone known for frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, and is home to nearly 130 active volcanoes.

With IANS inputs